Minister calls for safeguarding of small scale fisheries

Small scale fisheries nad coastal communities should be taken into consideration when a new common fisheries poliy is adopted, Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino said this morning.

Speaking at Seminar organised by the EU’s committee of regions on the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy in the development of an Integrated Maritime Policy at the Corinthia San Ġorg this morning, Mr Pullicino said it was no use having different rules for EU and North African fishermen if they were fishing in the same seas.

A Senegalese fisherman, he said, had approached Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki and told her “when your trawlers visit the seas of my country, my canoe returns empty”, to which she had replied that any new agreement on fishing policy should also include human rights clauses, which would have lasting benefits not just on Europe, but also on the local communities.

The minister said that he was in full agreement with the position adopted by Commissioner Damanaki, who had said that “business as usual is not an option, but there is a future for fishermen,” and waspushing for sustainable management of fishing stocks.

Mr Pullicino said that with respect to small scale fisheries, “we need to use our funding to support small scale producers and communities. We have studies that small scale fishing operations fish more sustainably and contribute more greatly to employment."

Also at the seminar was former Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg, who emphasised the need for a balance between maritime regulation and environmental considerations.

Speaking during a press conference at the same seminar, Dr Borg said the EU had to lead the way when it came to enforcing maritime and fishing laws, even if other countries fishing in the same sea were not abiding by the same policies.